This invention relates generally to a portable or mobile habitation module. More specifically, the present invention relates to a mobile habitation module that may also secure gear on or within the mobile habitation module.
Many people spend time in the outdoors to enjoy recreational activities such as camping, hiking, and fishing. Habitable temporary shelters such as camping trailers or vans including habitable space are often used in order to provide a base for their activities as well as protect inhabitants from the elements of the outdoors when sleeping or otherwise utilizing shelter. Such habitable temporary shelters may have other useful purposes including by agencies such as the Department of the Interior or the Department of Defense for military purposes. Other purposes for the temporary habitable shelters may be professional such as for storm chasers, astronomers, and other professionals who may have a need to be outdoors in order to carry out professional duties. Commonly camping trailers or vans, or other habitable, temporary shelters may be used as first aid stations or field offices in urban locations. The habitable, temporary shelters may be useful, for example, to aid athletes and fans alike at various sports venues (e.g., marathoners on city streets or fans at a football stadium).
There are many small, habitable modules available on the market today, both vehicle-based and trailer-based. Many of the habitable modules on the market are hard-shell habitats that are not easily mobile. The smaller habitable modules are not capable of withstanding rugged terrain that is common when traveling to rugged or recreational areas or other regions where such habitable vehicles may be used. At the same time, the larger habitable modules may have difficulty in traversing rugged terrain. The larger habitable living modules further may not be able to be towed by smaller vehicles like cars. Moreover, habitable temporary shelters are not adaptable for different usages. Other habitable living modules presently on the market may be tall and bulky, for example recreational vehicles (RVs). As such, such habitable living modules may present clearance issues during cross-country travel, or they may present visibility issues for drivers of the vehicles.
There are also many separate products devoted to securing gear or equipment on or within a vehicle. These products, however, generally serve only to act as a storage unit, and they do not provide for living habitable space. People who use small habitable vehicles to camp and enjoy the outdoors, or even people who must be outdoors to serve professional purposes, often need a habitable space that also provides adjustable or modifiable storage for computers, monitoring devices, tools, tables, awnings, clothing, hammocks, or other useful equipment. Yet, presently, current products on the market are designed for only one mode or the other. The consumer is forced to decide, for example, on a camping trailer, truck camper, or small non-portable weatherproof unit rack or storage container. Some of the units and habitats are designed for recreational use and some for professional use. Users of both habitable vehicles and storage vehicles desire a solution module that is able to not only be habitable, but also is capable of securing gear or equipment. As it stands now, consumers are forced to decide between, for example, a camping trailer or a cargo trailer, a truck camper or a tarp, or a small non-portable weatherproof tool box or rack unit.
What is needed is a designed systematic solution that can provide outdoor enthusiasts including the military and those that rely on being in the outdoors for professional purposes with the ability to solve multiple problems, situations, and scenarios they may currently face. The solution should be a habitable space for use outdoors that should be tough enough for being transported off-road in rugged terrain, but also lightweight enough to be towed by the smallest of cars, in a truck bed, or hoisted by a helicopter or other means of transportation to be delivered to remote, emergency locations or within the confines of a city. The solution should be comfortable but still be useful to the many situations and users for which it is intended. Moreover, the solution should have the ability to be arranged and re-arranged for differing scenarios, including being fully usable as a stand alone module or in conjunction with a supportive structure such as a truck or trailer and further capable of being modular and connectable to form an even larger structure.